With a single pitch...
Akutsu silenced the once-boisterous Yakushi dugout.
The players stared at the field in stunned silence.
Eyes widened.
Mouths hung open.
No one even remembered to cheer.
The bizarre movement of that pitch had completely caught them off guard.
Among them, the experienced Todoroki Raizo was the first to recover.
Unfortunately...
His expression immediately darkened.
"This is bad..."
He frowned deeply, rubbing his temples as countless thoughts raced through his mind.
"The speed isn't impressive..."
"But that's not what makes this pitch dangerous."
"Its unpredictable movement is."
"If we can't drive it out of the park in one swing..."
"...trying to string together hits against it will be almost impossible."
He clicked his tongue.
"Damn..."
"Kaidou really is a kingdom of pitchers."
Despite desperately searching for a solution, none came to mind.
Finding a way to deal with such a rare pitch in the middle of a game was easier said than done.
"Kahahahaha!"
A burst of excited laughter suddenly shattered the silence.
Everyone turned.
Raichi's eyes sparkled as though they were filled with stars.
His entire body trembled with excitement.
His fists clenched tightly while his gaze remained locked on Akutsu atop the mound.
"This is amazing!"
"Ohohoho!"
"I want to hit that pitch!"
"I've got to blast it out of the stadium!"
None of his teammates paid him much attention.
Their focus remained fixed on the duel unfolding at home plate.
Standing on the mound, Akutsu couldn't help smiling when he saw the stunned expressions in Yakushi's dugout.
Anyone familiar with him knew exactly what that smile meant.
He was thoroughly enjoying himself.
"Heh..."
"Sakuraba-senpai relies on weak contact and our defense."
"You might still get lucky against him."
He slowly spun the baseball in his fingers.
"But my Knuckleball is different."
"You won't even be able to touch it."
"Just stand there."
"You'll be striking out soon enough."
His grin widened.
Then—
Whoosh!
The baseball floated gently from his fingertips.
Once again, it resembled a butterfly dancing through the sky.
It fluttered left.
Then right.
It suddenly rose before dipping again.
Its path twisted unpredictably through the air, as graceful as it was impossible to read.
Unaffected by gravity—or so it seemed—the ball drifted lazily toward home plate, captivating everyone watching.
Kitamura remained perfectly still.
Having already seen one Knuckleball, he didn't rush to swing this time.
Instead, he calmly observed.
Every tiny movement.
Every subtle change.
Every unpredictable flutter.
He searched for even the slightest clue hidden within that beautiful yet deceptive flight.
Thwack!
"Strike two!"
Just two Knuckleballs.
That was all Akutsu needed to push the batter who had homered in his previous at-bat into an 0-2 count.
Even the roaring crowd had grown noticeably quieter.
"This pitch really doesn't spin..."
Kitamura murmured.
"And neither one has followed the same path."
"So every Knuckleball moves differently..."
He slowly closed his eyes.
Taking a deep breath, he exhaled, easing the tension in his body.
The Knuckleball was one of the rarest pitches in baseball.
Pitchers capable of mastering it were extraordinarily uncommon.
Even in his previous life, despite reaching the Major Leagues, Kitamura had never faced a true Knuckleball specialist.
This...
Was his first time.
Which also meant—
He had absolutely no experience hitting it.
Kitamura frowned slightly.
I'm not confident...
But standing here doing nothing isn't an option either.
After a brief moment of thought, he arrived at the only answer he could find.
I'll wait.
Wait until the very last instant.
Then swing.
It wasn't much of a strategy.
But it was the only one he had.
Resetting his stance, Kitamura fixed his eyes on the mound.
Waiting.
"Hehehe..."
Seeing the serious expression on Kitamura's face, Akutsu let out another eerie laugh.
"It's useless."
"No matter how hard you struggle..."
"You can't change the outcome."
"You're going to strike out."
With complete confidence, he delivered the third pitch.
Whoosh!
The Knuckleball drifted toward the plate once more, fluttering unpredictably through the air.
Left.
Right.
Up.
Down.
Its movement was impossible to predict.
Yet Kitamura never moved.
He simply watched.
Waiting.
Patiently.
Don't rush.
Don't try to crush it.
All I need...
...is solid contact.
The stadium seemed to hold its breath.
Kitamura stood perfectly still.
Calm on the outside.
Yet beneath that calm exterior, his body felt like a volcano on the verge of eruption, immense power gathering silently as he waited for the perfect moment to unleash it.
Finally...
The wandering Knuckleball floated across the plate and entered his hitting zone.
Kitamura's eyes flashed.
In that instant—
His bat exploded forward.
He wasn't swinging for power.
He was swinging for speed.
A brilliant streak cut through the air like lightning.
Clang!!
A sharp metallic crack rang out.
Almost simultaneously—
BOOM!!
A thunderous explosion echoed throughout the stadium.